A tale of Ospreys and Trouts
- Arjun Prakash Iyer
- Aug 23
- 9 min read
Author's note
In July 2026, I had the privilege of visiting the Tupolev Tu-142 museum in Visakhapatnam, when an idea struck my mind: While most people would write about their experience visiting the museum, why not try and write about the legacy of the aircraft in the Indian Navy? How did the Indian Naval Air Arm build its Long Range Maritime Reconnaissance and ASW capability?
India’s Need for Long Range Maritime Reconnaissance capability
Maritime Reconnaissance is a vital role played by naval air arms across the world. They act as the eyes and ears of the fleet, and are vital for early warning and situational awareness. As discussed in my previous article The Sky has Different Shades of Blue, use of aviation in maritime security is not a new phenomenon. However, it is necessary to take a closer look in the Indian context as to why fostering such capability is vital.
Naturally so, the first forms of Maritime Reconnaissance and liaison work was done by a group of six Coastal Defence Flights (CDFs) operating from establishments in the Southern provinces such as Bombay, Madras and Calcutta, flying aircraft such as the Westland Wapiti IIA. The CDF system was abolished after a decision in October 1942. Nos. 6, 7 & 8 Squadron IAF replaced the Six CDFs respectively, with No.6 Squadron equipped with the Hurricane Mk-II and Nos. 7 and 8 Squadrons with the Westland Lysander. Amongst these, No.6 Squadron would have a crucial role to play in our story.
As far as the Navy itself was concerned, it did not have its own Fleet Air Arm; therefore, transiting RN and RAF squadrons carried out Reconnaissance duties such as what their temporary deployment allowed. The Royal Indian Navy was poised to get its own Air Arm, in light of Plan Paper No.1, a white-paper that was drafted in interest of expanding the capabilities of the RIN in 1947-48. However, the ‘grand’ plan to procure two light fleet carriers, and 300 aircraft (primarily comprising the Hawker Sea Fury FB.11 and Fairey Firefly) — for carrier operations, shore based flying, attritional spares and other Fleet Requirements — eventually met the reality of Post-Independence Politico-Economic realities.
Soon enough, in the next two years, the ‘ambitious’ 300 aircraft for a ‘fleet’ reduced to just 10 aircraft which was barely sufficient to establish a ‘Fleet Requirements’ Unit. The Indian Navy managed to establish a Fleet Requirement Unit (FRU) in 1951, and by 1953, the Cochin airfield was acquired from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on 1 January 1953, and was commissioned on 11 March 1953 as the Navy’s first Naval Air Station, INS Garuda. The FRU was commissioned on 11 May 1953, with a complement of 10 amphibian Short Sealand aircraft. The acquisition of the Sealand is considered to be controversial, as Indian parliamentarians themselves acknowledged that the aircraft was ‘unsuitable for any air force in the world’ and yet procured them for the Indian Navy.
The next biggest leap in Maritime Reconnaissance capability of the Indian Navy came in the form of the Bréguet 1050 Alizé. The Indian Navy placed an order for 12 Alizé aircraft and delivery commenced in 1961 at Aeronavale at Hyeres, raising INAS 310 ‘Cobras’. In August 1961, two more Alizés were acquired for the Indian Navy, raising the strength of the Fleet of this anti-submarine aircraft to fourteen. The Alizé was leaps ahead of contemporary aircraft that were being evaluated or proposed to the Indian Navy at that time. It was comparatively safer, easier to fly and maintain than its competitor, the Fairey Gannet.
The Alizé played a crucial role during both the 1965 and 1971 wars. During the 1965 war, INAS 310 flew ASW patrols off the western seaboard, operating from Santa Cruz. One Alizé was detached to the IAF air base at Pathankot, to perform SIGINT (Signal Intelligence) duties, and if necessary, DEAD (Destruction of Enemy Air Defence) mission against radar sites. However, no Destruction of Enemy Air Defences (DEAD) mission was carried out during the war, but the aircraft did fly several SIGINT missions during post war surveillance. During the 1971 war, INAS 310 flew missions from both INS Vikrant and from shore bases, often flying long endurance missions without any fighter escorts. Aircraft aboard INS Vikrant flew on all days of the carrier’s campaign and also undertook night bombing missions.
However, with the end of 1971 war, the navy came to realise certain important shortfalls in its Maritime Reconnaissance capability. The arrival of PNS Ghazi all the way from West Pakistan to waters off Visakhapatnam, and the sinking of INS Khukri by the Daphne-class submarine PNS Hangor brought about limitations in the ability to track submerged targets at high seas.
To add to this, India’s role in shaping regional and global security was also rising: The Indian Ocean Region (IOR) is a vital commercial highway connecting the oil-rich Middle East, East Asia, and Africa with Europe, carrying half of the world's container cargo, one-third of its bulk cargo, and two-thirds of its oil shipments. These Sea Lines of Communication (SLOCs) constitute the economic lifelines of the nation, with India's international trade by sea amounting to 40% of its GDP. Safeguarding these routes is a massive task in an increasingly militarised ocean, where more than a hundred warships of about twenty extra-regional navies operate at any given point. This issue has become even more important as the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has been working on its doctrine and capability to build its reach and presence in the IOR, especially near the Horn of Africa for its own interests. Although the statistics may reflect contemporary shipping trends in the Indian Ocean, the region's importance itself has remained high throughout maritime history. India's maritime policies have been placing higher significance to the region over the past few decades and it only continues to rise day by day.
There were also issues concerning who would undertake the role of Maritime Reconnaissance. In the immediate Post-Independence setup, the role of coastal air defence and maritime reconnaissance lay in the hands of the IAF. Throughout the 1950s and 60s, the IAF had employed No.6 Squadron ‘Dragons’ for this role, flying the refurbished Consolidated B-24J Liberators (which were sabotaged and left behind at Kanpur by the Allied forces after the end of WW2), followed by the Lockheed L1049G Super Constellations and the English Electric Canberra (1972-1990). The squadron continues to fly in the role of Maritime Strike with the SEPECAT Jaguar IM aircraft.
While the dispute between MR capability was present since the 1950s, the issue became serious in the aftermath of the 1965 War, when the Indian Navy formally began requesting developing its own shore-based LRMP capability. Some of the key issues advocated by the navy were owed to misidentification of ships and lack of coordination between airborne and shipborne assets. On the other hand, the IAF also had a valid reason that they already possessed the aircraft and infrastructure for such operations and that the Air Arm was limited in the same aspects. However, the Ministry of Defence ruled in favour of maintaining Status Quo in 1966.
Lessons learnt from the 1971 war led to a favourable outcome for the Navy. In 1975, the government authorised the Indian Navy to procure and operate Long Range Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance aircraft. The Navy’s tryst began with the IAF handing over five Super Constellation aircraft of No.6 Squadron to the Indian Navy in November 1976, which formed INAS 312 ‘Albatrosses’. This event marked the permanent handing over of Maritime Reconnaissance duties and responsibilities to the Navy. While the handing over happened rather seamlessly, the obsolescence of the Super Constellation aircraft presented several constraints in developing the desired level of MR capability. Immediately the Navy sought to procure better capability through the Ilyushin Il-38, which we shall touch upon later.
Tupolev Tu-142
The Tupolev Tu-142M (NATO codename Bear-F) is an exceptionally heavy, long-range maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare (LRMR/ASW) aircraft, originally designed as a derivative of the Soviet Tu-95 strategic bomber. It holds a legendary status as arguably the largest and heaviest combat aircraft ever operated by the Indian Navy. With a massive maximum take-off weight of 185 tonnes, this gargantuan machine is powered by four NK-13 turboprop engines driving eight-blade contra-rotating propellers. Characterised by a remarkably spartan cabin for a crew of 11 and an incredible range of approximately 6,500 km, she was the best representative of the Indian Navy's reach across the Indian Ocean. She could tail ships and submarines, but also hunt them with a variety of torpedoes, mines and depth charges.
Why the Tu-142?
Although the Indian Navy was looking for the procurement of the Ilyushin Il-38 as early as 1975 due to it being relatively easy to obtain. The Il-38s were inducted into the Indian Navy in September 1977, forming INAS 315 ‘Winged Stallions’. However the ‘five aircraft squadron’ had some genuine shortcomings. The numbers were too little for the Navy to undertake constant surveillance of the maritime regions surrounding India. Furthermore, the Navy was itself retiring its Super Constellations gradually, which meant that gaps were increasing for both frequency of sorties and areas of coverage. Added to this was the inability to procure more Il-38s within a feasible timeline.
The Tu-142M was thus selected by the Navy when the Soviet Union offered refurbished airframes in 1981 to meet the IN's requirement for an aircraft with longer endurance and range. However, it wasn’t going to be easy to operate an aircraft of such size. The runways had to be extended, larger hangars and infrastructure had to be built. The procurement was approved considering the advantages outweighed the costs. The “Bear” had longer and heavier “paws”: An impressive 12-hour-plus patrol endurance, it is conceptually designed to carry and deploy a massive internal payload of sonobuoys, high-speed torpedoes, and depth charges. The aircraft could patrol virtually anywhere across the IOR at its will!
Tu-142 Enters Service
Ultimately, the IN purchased eight Tu-142Ms (IN311-318). The first of the Bears were ferried in from Simferopol and reached Goa on March 30, 1988. Commander VC Pandey and Squadron Senior Pilot Lt Cdr SJS Gill led the commissioning crew. During the non-stop ferry, three US Navy F-14A Tomcats intercepted and escorted the Tupolevs for an hour over the Muscat coast, with both sides photographing each other! The ferry consisted of three aircraft and was routed via Ankara, Cyprus, Cairo, and Djibouti.
Over a 29-year lifespan, the Tu-142Ms logged over 30,000 flying hours with zero attrition. Some of its operational milestones include deployments during Op Parakram, Search and Rescue efforts during the 2004 Tsunami and also the immediate SAR effort after the mysterious disappearance of Malaysian Airlines Flight 370. In May 2011, a Tu-142M successfully scuttled a piracy attack on a Chinese merchant ship by firing flares during low passes.
SnrP Cdr Rana S piloted the final sortie (conducted on aircraft IN317). The Bear's legacy is now continued by the modern and more sophisticated Boeing P8I Poseidon. The Alizé 's roles and responsibilities have been taken over by the Dornier Do-228 and various other Unmanned Aerial Systems, which we shall be touching upon in future articles.
Aircraft IN312 was converted as a museum in Visakhapatnam and was inaugurated by then President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind on December 8, 2017. The museum itself stands as a testament to the great efforts put in by the Indian Navy and the Government of Andhra Pradesh in promoting preserving and promoting maritime heritage. There are three other museums along the RK Beach promenade, which also deserve a visit for those who are keen to know and learn about the Indian Navy's history!
Arjun Prakash Iyer
Arjun Prakash Iyer is a 24 year old Research Scholar under the Unni Kartha Chair of Excellence (UKCOE), chaired by CAPSS. A graduate in Journalism, he studies contemporary defence issues through the lens of military history and is currently researching the role and service history of the MiG-23 and MiG-27 in the IAF. He is also a research associate at Meluha Maritime.
References
4 to ka 7: A Trail of Hope and Arithmetic that Shaped the Indian Air Force by Anchit Gupta
https://iafhistory.in/2025/11/30/iaf-expansion-history-1942/
Downwind Four Green by Vice Admiral Vinod Pasricha
Under Two Ensigns by Rear Admiral Satyindra Singh
Transition to Triumph by Vice Admiral GM Hiranandani
The Scandal of Sealands of the Indian Navy by Anchit Gupta
Blueprint to Bluewater: Indian Navy, 1951-65 by Rear Admiral Satyindra Singh
Accidents Database - Fairey Gannet. The Flight Safety Foundation's Aviation Safety Network (ASN), https://asn.flightsafety.org/wikibase/type/GANT
The Duels of the Himalayan Eagle: The First Indo‑Pak Air War (1–22 September 1965) by Air Marshal Bharat Kumar, PVSM, AVSM (Retd)
Guardians of the Seas: Triumph of the Indian Navy and Its Air Power in the 1971 War by Rear Admiral Santosh Kumar Gupta and Commodore Gurnam Singh.
Transition of Triumph by Vice Admiral GM Hiranandani
Transition to Guardianship by Vice Admiral GM Hiranandani
A Decade of Transformation (2011-2021) by Commodore Dorai Babu
Fly Navy Fly by Pushpindar Singh and Angad Singh
Flying & Fighting in the Soviet Tu-142 'Bear': aircrew interview
https://hushkit.net/2021/05/02/flying-fighting-in-the-soviet-tu-142-bear-aircrew-interview/
Albatrosses (TU-142M) fly away into glory
Operating such a large aircraft does come with budgetary and maintenance challenges, but from the operator’s perspective, it’s great in many ways thanks to its payload capacity and long-range flight capability.
I assume that the mentioned Dornier Do228 has also become quite worn out.